Engineering crassulacean acid metabolism to improve water-use efficiency.
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Authors
Borland, Anne M.
Hartwell, James
Weston, David J.
Schlauch, Karen A.
Tschaplinski, Timothy J.
Tuskan, Gerald A.
Yang, Xiaohan
Cushman, John C.
Issue Date
2014-05-01
Type
Article
Language
Keywords
crassulacean acid metabolism , water-use efficiency (WUE) , engineering CAM into C3 plants , biodesign , bioenergy
Alternative Title
Abstract
Climatic extremes threaten agricultural sustainability worldwide. One approach to increase plant water-use efficiency is to introduce crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) into C3 crops. Such a task requires comprehensive systems-level understanding of the enzymatic and regulatory pathways underpinning this temporal CO2 pump. Here, we review the progress that has been made in achieving this goal. Given that CAM arose through multiple independent evolutionary origins, comparative transcriptomics and genomics of taxonomically diverse CAM species are being used to define the genetic ‘parts list' required to operate the core CAM functional modules of nocturnal carboxylation, daytime decarboxylation, and inverse stomatal regulation. Engineered CAM offers the potential to sustain plant productivity for food, feed, fiber, and biofuel production in hotter and drier climates.
Description
Citation
Trends Plant Sci. 2014 May;19(5):327-38. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2014.01.006. Epub 2014 Feb 19. Review.
Publisher
License
In Copyright